Christopher J. Blackwell: Seemingly
Fearless
Christopher
J. Blackwell liked life on the edge.
"He was interested in anything that was dangerous,"
his mother, Frances Allen, said. "He was born with no
sense of fear. When he was little he would swim
underwater before he would swim on top of it. My other
three children were a lot easier."
A fireman for 20 years, he was assigned to Rescue
Company 3 in the South Bronx. He was a specialist in
collapsed buildings, and gave lectures on the topic to
firefighters across the country. Like many of his
colleagues, he had a genetic connection to his
profession: his uncle had been a captain in the New York
Fire Department. His father and a grandfather were both
policemen.
When he was not on the job, Firefighter Blackwell, 42,
devoted his time to his wife, Jane, and their three
children, Alexandra, who is 15, Ryan, 13, and Samantha,
11. "He didn't care where we were going or what we were
doing," Mrs. Blackwell said. "When he wasn't working, he
wanted to spend time with the family."
He had a high-risk job, but Firefighter Blackwell
"wasn't reckless," his wife said. He loved doing what he
did. His mother added, "He lived and died with
purpose."
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